NCAA loss ends streak, season for Knights
UCF volleyball’s historic run came to an abrupt conclusion in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
The Knights were defeated by the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a five-set thriller at the Venue, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 15-7.
The loss not only ended the season of the 13th-seeded Knights, it also put a cap on their 24-match winning streak.
Prior to Thursday, UCF hadn’t lost since Sept. 2.
Making their ninth NCAA appearance and their first since 2014, the Knights were led offensively by the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year McKenna Melville, who racked up 21 kills.
Libero Jordan Pingel, the lone senior on the roster, finished her career with 22 digs versus the Eagles.
She departs UCF as the program’s all-time leader in digs.
The Knights breezed through the first set by hitting .406. They were paced by Melville, who recorded seven kills on 10 total at-
tempts.
UCF dropped the next two sets before dominating in the fourth.
However, FGCU finished strong and will move into the second round, where it will face the Florida Gators at The Venue on Friday at 7 p.m.
Seminoles fall
The Florida State volleyball team (19-9, 15-3 ACC) ended its season in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, falling to the No. 16 Florida Gators (25-6, 15-3 SEC). The second-seeded Gators swept threeseed Florida State at UCF, marking Florida State’s first loss to Florida in the postseason since 2010.
Junior outside hitter Payton Caffrey, the ACC Player of the Year, led FSU with 14 kills, hitting .275 in the match.
The Seminoles’ defensive effort was led by senior libero Kelsey Wicinski, who had 14 digs. FSU also got three blocks apiece from redshirt senior Christina Ambrose and sophomore Taryn Knuth.
The Seminoles delivered their 19th consecutive winning season in 2018 and made the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season — making them one of only 11 teams in the nation to accomplish the feat.